The present invention relates to apparatus for permitting discharge of a fire arm through a small port in a support structure such as a body of an armored vehicle, and in particular relates to a gun port that facilitates opening and closure of a closure shield over a discharge port by a single motion of an operator of the gun port, wherein the closure shield is mechanically secured against being pried open from an exterior side of the gun port whenever the closure shield is in a closed position.
Gun ports are well known in the art for both military and non-military application, wherein the gun port permits discharge of a fire arm through a discharge port defined within the gun port whenever the gun port is in an open position, and secures the port against passage of a bullet or other unwanted object (e.g., a poisonous gas container) or fluid whenever the gun port is in a closed position. Typically gun ports include a closure shield secured to an exterior surface of a support apparatus such as an exterior wall of an armored vehicle for carrying bulk quantities of currency. The closure shield is often actuated by an operator of the gun port next to an interior surface of the support apparatus, such as inside the armored vehicle. If the armored vehicle were to be attacked, such as in an attempted armed robbery of the vehicle, the operator must quickly open the closure shield, pass a muzzle of a fire arm through the discharge port, and discharge the fire arm in the direction of the robbers. Most often, gun ports are located near armored windows so that the operator may observe the target while discharging the fire arm. If the operator has discharged all of the bullets in the fire arm, and must then re-load, it is imperative that the closure shield be quickly closed so that the robbers may not open the closure shield to discharge a fire arm into the vehicle, or pass into the vehicle a small explosive or poisonous gas.
Most known gun ports have closure shields that may be quickly opened and closed. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,673 to Miller, a gun port is disclosed that utilizes a rocker arm with an attached spring wherein the spring secures a closure shield in both an open and closed position so that the operator may simply grab a knob attached to the shield and pivot the shield downward, away from the discharge port to shoot through the port. The same spring secures the shield in a closed position. The primary resistance however, to a forced opening from the exterior surface of the support structure housing the gun port is the spring, and that may be readily over come by and aggressive attacker.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,672, also to Miller shows a vertically sliding closure shield with a mechanical latch that may only be opened from within the vehicle. However, movement of the sliding closure shield up and out of the way of the discharge port involves a complicated locking latch lever and movement by the fire arm or operator""s hand, all of which take considerable time, and hence lessen the value of the gun port. Additionally, known gun ports that include mechanical stops to resist prying are typically costly to manufacture involving many moving parts, and are typically slow to engage, taking more than one movement by the operator. Accordingly, there is a need for a pry-proof gun port that is of efficient manufacture, and that can be quickly opened, and securely closed by one simple motion by the operator of the gun port.
The invention is a pry-proof gun port for shielding a gun whenever the gun port is in a closed position and for permitting the gun to be discharged through the gun port whenever the gun port is in an open position. The gun port comprises: a frame for mounting the gun port to a support structure, such as a body of an armored vehicle, the frame including an exterior mount plate defining a discharge port dimensioned to support a closure shield, the frame also including an interior mount plate mechanically secured to the exterior mount plate and defining an access port that is coaxial with the discharge port; a push rod having an exterior end of the rod secured to a peripheral region of the closure shield, the push rod having an intermediate portion passing through a chamber of the frame, and the push rod having an interior end opposed to the exterior end wherein the interior end includes a lock shaft adjustably secured within a lock chamber defined within the interior end of the push rod so that the lock shaft is coaxial with the push rod; the lock shaft defining a raised exterior end opposed to an interior button end, and at least one notch between the raised and button ends; a lock rod secured within a throughbore of the interior end of the push rod perpendicular to the push rod and lock shaft so that an upper end of the lock rod abuts a shoulder of the chamber of the frame whenever a lower end of the lock rod contacts the raised exterior end of the lock shaft.
The chamber of the frame, the push rod, lock shaft, and the lock rod are cooperatively dimensioned so that whenever the lock shaft is pushed toward the exterior end of the push rod, the lower end of the lock rod moves into the notch of the lock shaft and the upper end of the lock rod moves out of abutment with the shoulder of the chamber toward the push rod so that the push rod may then move through the frame to push the closure shield out of the discharge port of the exterior mount plate to permit rotation by the push rod of the closure shield away from the discharge port to allow passage of a bullet through the discharge port.
Because the push rod may not move toward the exterior mount plate of the frame until the lock shaft is first moved by its interior end to permit the lock rod to move into the notch of the lock shaft, the closure shield may not be pried open from the exterior mount plate of the frame. If the exterior mount plate is secured to an exterior surface of a support structure such as an armored currency transport vehicle, and the interior end of the lock shaft is secured within the interior of the vehicle, the pry-proof gun port may only be opened from the interior of the vehicle housing the interior ends of the lock shaft and push rod.
In alternative embodiments, a first coil spring secures the push rod to the frame so that the coil spring applies a torsion force between the frame and the closure shield secured to the push rod in order to twist the closure shield away from the discharge port whenever the push rod pushes the closure shield out of the discharge port. The first coil spring also applies a tension force between the frame and the closure shield to draw the shield back into the discharge port whenever the operator rotates the push rod, against the torsion force of the coil spring, to position the closure shield back over the discharge port to close the pry-proof gun port. A second coil spring may also be included between the raised end of the lock shaft and an exterior end of the lock chamber that pushes the lock shaft away from the exterior mount plate of the frame. Additionally, the notch of the lock shaft may be a beveled notch, having a beveled edge closest to the exterior raised end of the shaft to facilitate movement of the lock rod into and out of the notch. Also, the shoulder of the chamber of the frame may be a beveled shoulder to facilitate movement of the lock rod into the notch of the shaft. In another alternative embodiment, a stop pin may be secured within the push rod that mates with a stop box defined in the frame that limits rotation of the push rod between desired limits so that the closure shield rotates away from the discharge port to a desired open position, such as one-hundred and eighty degrees from a closed position within the discharge port, and then rotates back into alignment with the discharge port to close the gun port. Also, the exterior frame plate may define an xe2x80x9cOxe2x80x9d-ring groove adjacent a periphery of the discharge port that houses an xe2x80x9cOxe2x80x9d-ring in order to secure the pry-proof gun port against passage of fluids such as poisonous gases through the port when the closure shield is in the closed position.
In moving the pry-proof gun port from the open position to the closed position, the tension force of the first coil spring also moves the push rod secured to the closure shield away from the exterior mount plate of the frame. The tension force of the second coil spring then moves the lock shaft so that its raised end slides under the lower end of the lock rod as the upper end of the lock rod moves out of the chamber of the frame thereby positioning the upper end of the lock rod to again abut the shoulder of the chamber of the frame. Therefore, the pry-proof gun port, by the combined working of the first and second coil springs, automatically moves the closure shield into the discharge port and locks the closure shield against being pried open from the exterior mount plate whenever the operator makes ones rotational movement of the push rod to move the gun port back to a closed, pry-proof position.
To move the pry-proof gun port back into the open position, the operator simply has to make one pushing movement against the button exterior end of the lock shaft and the interior end of the push rod, which are coaxial. In a preferred embodiment, the button end of the lock shaft protrudes out of the interior end of the push rod a distance that is approximately the same as a distance between the raised exterior end and the notch of the lock shaft. The initial movement of the lock shaft moves the lock rod into the notch so that the upper end of the lock rod moves out of abutment with the shoulder of the chamber of the frame. Thereafter, the push rod may move toward the exterior mount plate to move the closure shield out of the discharge port so that the first coil spring may then rotate the closure shield away from the discharge port placing the gun port in the open position. Again, one, quick pushing motion by one hand of the operator opens the gun port, while the other hand of the operator may then pass a muzzle of a fire arm through the discharge port. To quickly close and lock the pry-proof gun port, the operator simply rotates the interior end of the push rod so the closure shield overlies the discharge port, and the closure shield snaps into its closed and locked position.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a pry-proof gun port that overcomes deficiencies of prior art gun ports.
It is a more specific object to provide a pry-proof gun port that permits movement from a closed position to an open position with one straight, pushing motion of an operator.
It is yet another object to provide a pry-proof gun port that provides for automatic movement from an open to a closed, pry-proof position with one rotational movement by the operator.
It is a further object to provide a pry-proof gun port that includes a fluid seal between and exterior and interior of the gun port.
It is still another object to provide a pry-proof gun port that is of efficient, compact manufacture that is easy to install in a support structure such as an armored vehicle.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.